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People with learning disabilities still face inequalities in access to health services. This article, which comes with a handout for a journal club discussion, sums up what nurses can do to reduce these inequalities

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People with learning disabilities still face inequalities in access to health services. This article, which comes with a handout for a journal club discussion, sums up what nurses can do to reduce these inequalities

Men twice as likely to have undiagnosed diabetes

Men over 50 are around twice as likely as women of the same age to have undiagnosed diabetes, research has suggested.

A study of more than 6,700 adults aged 52 to 79 published in the journal Diabetic Medicine found that, of the numbers with type 2 diabetes, 22% of men were unaware they had the condition compared with 12% of women

Study leader Dr Mary Pierce, from University College London, said: “The higher numbers of men with undiagnosed diabetes in this study may be explained by the fact that women go to their GP more often and are therefore screened more often.

“There needs to be much greater testing of overweight and obese people as well as those with other risk factors for diabetes.”

The research also suggested that people have a greater risk of undiagnosed diabetes if they had a high Body Mass Index - a measurement of weight related to height, a large waist, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Efforts to boost health professionals’ knowledge of nutrition and ensure they feel confident talking to patients about sensitive topics like weight are among steps designed to tackle the UK’s obesity crisis set out in the long-term plan for the NHS in England.

New year honours have been awarded to nearly 30 members of the nursing and midwifery profession for 2019, including the outgoing chief nursing officer for England, a leading voice in community nursing and a senior nurse credited with helping turn round a trust in the wake of a high-profile maternity scandal.

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